Once Saved, Always Saved?

Thank you, Mr. Whitlark, and thank all of you for your patience. God's always had no problem keeping me humble. I continually make mistakes like those, like that one. But really kind of small when you really compare it to everything that's going on and the whole scheme of things. I even have my glasses here. Didn't forget those. Okay, brethren, from a human, fleshly perspective, wouldn't it be nice if you were once saved, always saved? Wouldn't that be kind of nice to just know that once saved, always saved? Say you profess Christ at age 15.

Maybe you give your heart to Him in an emotional, just-as-I-am plea from a youth minister. And then you're saved once and for all. You need not be overly concerned about your behavior from that point forward because you've been saved. You may think that you can sow lots of wild oats and don't really need to be very concerned about the harvest. You believe you have purchased an ironclad salvation insurance policy, and you don't even have to make any monthly premiums. It's all been paid.

You are saved, and that's that. No ifs, no ands, no buts about it. So don't worry. Be happy. Well, I do believe in not worrying. God says to take no anxious thought. I do believe in being happy because God wants us to be happy, for the most part, most of the time anyway. But what does this doctrine of once saved, always saved mean?

What verses in the Bible are used to substantiate this doctrine? What are the likely ramifications of such a doctrinal belief? What does the Bible say about salvation? When is a person saved? What does it mean to be saved? Is it possible to fall away or to lose out on salvation? Well, look for answers to these important questions in this sermon. And also be ready to give an answer yourself, if anyone asks this question of you.

So let's talk about once saved, always saved. What does this doctrine of once saved, always saved mean? Well, it is the belief that once a person accepts Jesus into their heart, they are saved and they're destined to go to heaven no matter what. The belief is that nothing can keep them from salvation, no sin. Nothing can keep them from going to heaven. They basically haven't made. They're on the road to heaven and they have no worries, at least from that perspective. So that's essentially what the doctrine means. Now let's ask ourselves, what are some of the scriptures that are used to lend support to this doctrine?

I'm going to go through about five or six here. And these are among the main ones that are used. So as you consider these scriptures, be careful not to read too much into them and realize that they must be understood in light of all the scriptures that address this topic.

Remember, we need to take a look at all the verses that discuss a certain particular topic before we draw a conclusion as to exactly what God is saying about that subject. So let's begin in John 10. John 10. John 10.27. I hadn't given a doctrinal sermon in a while, so I thought it would be good to go ahead and cover this subject today. It's an important topic. John 10.27. This is what Jesus Christ says. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

And I give them eternal life. And they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. Now, I believe every single word that I just read. And you should, too, because it's all true. But we need to be careful we don't read more into that statement than is actually there. Let's go to 1 John 5. 1 John 5. 1 John 5.11. Here we read, and this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life.

And His life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Now, I think we can realize why someone might come up with such a doctrine, because these verses seem to say a certain thing.

But when you take, again, all the other verses that we're going to be covering today, we'll see clearly that we're not once saved, always saved. Now, let's go to Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10, verse 8. Another few verses that are used to show that it's once saved, always saved. Hebrews 10, verse 8. Previously saying, sacrifice and offering, burn offerings, and offerings for sin you did not desire, nor had pleasure in them, which are offered according to the law. Then He said, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God.

He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. From that time, waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. Again, we should believe all of these words because they are certainly very true.

Verse 14 says, For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified, those who are being set apart and sanctified, he has perfected them forever or is in the process of perfecting them forever. Now in 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2.

1 Timothy 2, verses 5 and 6.

And also, if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

Well, that wasn't what I wanted to read. It was 1 Timothy 2. I was in 2 Timothy. 1 Timothy 2, verses 5 and 6. This makes more sense. Verse 5. Again, these words are certainly true, and we should believe them. And they're very encouraging. These words I'm reading are very encouraging, aren't they? It's God's truth that those who are sanctified, made holy, set apart, who are truly the sheep of God, they are in the process of being saved, and they are going to be saved. They're going to go into God's eternal kingdom. John 1, verse 12. Just one more of these type of verses here for a moment. John 1, verse 12. John 1, verse 12. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So there are a number of scriptures. These are among the main ones that are used. And are representative of any scriptures that they might use to show that we're once saved, always saved. But we'll continue, and we'll show a lot of other verses that will contradict that idea of once saved, always saved. I mean, actually, in reality, that is a true statement. Once we are fully saved and we're born into the family of God at the resurrection, then we are once saved, always saved. Right?

Yeah, when we're changed into spirit, then it's once saved, always saved. But that's not what people mean by this doctrine. They believe that if you accept Jesus here on this earth in the flesh, and you profess Christ, then you're once saved, always saved. That's not what the Bible teaches. Let's ask the question, where did this idea or doctrine of once saved, always saved, where did it originate? Where did it come from initially? Well, actually, this idea was already taking root in the time of Paul. In fact, maybe long before that. But we can see Paul addressing similar ideas in the book of Romans. So in Romans chapter 3, we'll see what Paul has to say about this kind of an attitude that was beginning to creep in, this philosophy, this idea. Romans chapter 3 verse 31.

Do we then make void the law through faith? So you see, some were trying to say that the law was done away, and that people were saved, and they didn't have to observe the law, they didn't have to keep the law, that Christ did it all. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not. On the contrary, we establish the law. The law is established. We don't make void the law through faith, but we have faith in Christ as our Savior, the one who brought the law.

The Father sent the Son to bring the laws of God. Those laws were brought to us. Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The one who became Christ was the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob. He was there on Mount Sinai. The law was delivered. And the law was established. But we are certainly to have faith and trust in God and believe that we're forgiven our sins upon true repentance. And God even grants that repentance to us. So, people were already beginning to say that it wasn't necessary to keep the law any longer.

They were saved by God's mercy and grace, and they didn't have to be concerned about keeping God's commandments. In other words, they were once saved, always saved. In Romans 6, verse 1, what shall we say then, Paul asks, shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? So, again, there was this teaching that it was okay to sin. In fact, the more we sin, the more God forgives, the greater God is.

That sort of rationale. What shall we say then, shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Certainly not. Certainly not. We should not continue in sin. The idea that one can lose their salvation is actually grounded in God's Word. And we will see that very clearly as we continue in today's sermon and cover some other very important scriptures. This idea or doctrine of once saved, always saved has its roots in human nature.

And Satan's influence, of course, because Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He wants us to think in certain ways. He doesn't want us to put on the mind of Christ, who was perfect and never sinned. He wants us to think like Him, who was a sinner, who was a liar from the beginning. Or once he started lying, he was perfect at the very beginning, but then he obviously went to the dark side, you might say, and pride was welling up within him, and he began to lie and do all manner of evil.

So this idea that one can lose... What I'd like to do now is read from something I got off the Internet from Cuddles24. I went and looked up, once saved, always saved, and I was reading some of the comments people make in regard to this doctrine. And this is what Cuddles24 says.

The idea that one can lose their salvation was actually invented by Roman Catholicism, to make money off the sale of prayer for the dead, indulgences to give them more power over how and what else, in addition to Christ, people had to do to be saved. Accordingly, many of the denominations, the Protestants who protested and came out of the Catholic Church, who claimed to have broken away from Rome, still teach their heretical views to their members. So he's in favor of once saved, always saved. Cuddles24 is a firm believer in once saved, always saved.

He goes on to say, if we can't have assurance of salvation, what's the point of getting saved? I may as well just try to be the best person I can be and hope for the best. Nope. It flies in the face of the eternal peace and hope that God promises to his children. Basically, what he's saying is it's much easier to have this belief that you're once saved, always saved, and you don't have to be that concerned about keeping the law of God and obedience and righteousness and truly loving God and loving your brother and all those things.

Again, he wants an ironclad insurance policy to know that whatever he basically does after professing Christ, that's all he has to be concerned about. So, no doubt the Catholics did use the indulgences and things like that to have more power over people and to gain more money and that sort of thing. But this once saved, always saved, or what they would call a heretical view that you can lose out on salvation is actually firmly grounded in the Bible.

And we'll see that in a moment. Let's ask another question. What are the likely ramifications of holding on to this doctrine? A person who believes this once saved, always saved doctrine, what are the likely ramifications of believing this way?

Well, human nature, being what it is, doesn't it seem likely that man would take advantage of such a doctrine? I'm afraid I would. I mean, if I believed this, then I would pretty much go do whatever I wanted to do.

Whatever feels good, do it. I mean, I would probably be headed down that road if I did not believe that I could lose out on salvation. You know, it's been said by Thomas Russell Yabara, someone you have never heard of, and neither have I. But again, I found him on the Internet. I guess he's a real person, but you can never be quite sure of that. Anyway, he supposedly said, a Christian is a man that feels repentance on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is planning to do again, or is going to do again, on Monday. And I think that really does bring out the point that a lot of people do look at things that way.

In other words, some people discredit Christianity because they have seen the behavior of one who may hold to this belief of once saved, always saved. They have seen the professing Christian who allows himself to justify his bad, even evil behavior, believing they have nothing to be concerned about because they're already saved, and their sins are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. So there's a mixture of good and evil, of truth and error in this doctrine of once saved, always saved.

Now, in the quotation that I just used about a Christian as a man that feels repentance on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do again on Monday, we see in this attitude one who feels maybe a tiny little bit of remorse but has no conviction to really change his behavior. He likes what he's doing. He believes he can get away with it without suffering any eternal consequences.

This type of attitude toward sin clearly breeds or produces more sin in a person's life. It surely would in mine. You know, if I had this attitude and approach, I can tell you right now I would be sinning a whole lot more than I do.

This type of attitude is reflected again in what Cuddles 24 said earlier. If you can't have assurance of salvation, what's the point of getting saved? I may as well just try to be the best person I can and hope for the best. Again, he says it flies in the face of the eternal peace and hope that God promises to his children. Now, I don't feel that way because I firmly believe in God's promises to me and to all of you in regard to eternal peace.

I believe those things will come to pass. I believe God's kingdom will be an unbelievably wonderful kingdom without sin. It is definitely the place to be in the future. It's going to be a wonderful place, a marvelous place. But people need to be taught the truth about what it means to be able to actually get there and be in God's kingdom. So let's ask the question, what is salvation?

And when does one receive salvation? Salvation is eternal life and God's eternal kingdom. If you study the Bible, you'll clearly see that. I don't have time to go through a bunch of scriptures on that, but there's many, many scriptures.

Salvation, or being saved, is eternal life in God's eternal kingdom. That's what it's all about, to live forever, to one day be changed in the spirit, fully born into the family of God. So salvation is eternal life in God's eternal kingdom. Now in Hebrews 5, verse 9, it shows that Christ is the author of eternal salvation. Let's see that. Hebrews 5, verse 9. Hebrews 5, verse 9. And having been perfected, it's talking about our high priest in heaven, the one who came and died for us, who lived a perfect life, who was crucified, who was resurrected after three days and three nights in the grave.

Having been perfected, he was changed into spirit, from human flesh to spirit. He was perfected. He became the author of eternal salvation to all who what? All who obey him. That's not to be taken lightly. Obedience is not to be taken lightly. Christ set the perfect example for us of obedience. He is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Called by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. Even those in God's church, some, were dull of hearing.

I hope we have no one that's dull of hearing today because these are words of eternal life, words of true salvation, of entering into the family of God and living forever. Salvation occurs at the return of Jesus Christ for one who has been converted and has received the gift of the Holy Spirit of God. That's what the Bible teaches. When a person has surrendered his life to Christ and, of course, to the Father and is actually striving to live by every word of God, by first of all being baptized.

That's what the Scripture says. Let every one of you repent and be baptized. So being baptized is an important element. A lot of people like to bypass that. They don't really want to be baptized for whatever reason. Of course, repenting of his sins, then he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. Upon baptism, upon repentance, upon laying on of hands, upon acceptance of Christ as his Savior, then the Holy Spirit begins dwelling within a person.

It's the Holy Spirit of God that seals that person until Christ returns and brings salvation with him. So the Holy Spirit does seal us, but it doesn't mean that we can't fall away. It doesn't mean that God couldn't take that Spirit away from us if we fail to stir up the Spirit of God, if we take that Spirit for granted, and we don't stir it up.

If we quench God's Holy Spirit, just as David was concerned, after his sin with Bathsheba, after having killed Uriah the Hittite, he prayed that God would not take his Holy Spirit away from him. He had been sealed by the Holy Spirit, but our actions can disqualify us.

So we mustn't think that we're once saved, always saved, until we are truly saved and born into God's family, until we become Spirit. So let's go to Hebrews 9. It's just over a page or two. Hebrews 9. Let's look at verses 27 and 28. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time. We are all eagerly waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. We're eagerly praying, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.

We want Christ to come back to establish his kingdom first here upon the earth for a thousand years. We want to rule and reign with Christ and be among the first fruits. Then we know that the New Jerusalem is going to come down from heaven. God the Father is going to dwell among us. Everything will be purified, and God's eternal kingdom will be established, a spiritual kingdom, when there will be no longer any sin. So in Matthew 1, verse 21, talking about Jesus Christ, Jesus does mean Savior. Jesus is the Savior. Matthew 1, verse 21. And she will bring forth a son.

Speaking of Mary, she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Sin is the transgression of the law. We've all done it, and we all need to be saved from our sins. We all need to have our sins forgiven. There's only one name given under heaven whereby we can be saved, and that is Jesus the Christ. That's the only way that any of us will be forgiven and will be saved.

So it is vital, essential, that we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. That's paramount. We have to do that. That's indeed a major starting point, is accepting Christ, recognizing who he is, seeing who he is, and then beginning to live like he lived, to the best of our abilities, with the Spirit of God dwelling in us, guiding us, motivating us, directing us. And even then, we'll still fall short because we're in the flesh. And the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. So Christ is indeed the Savior.

Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Verse 50. 1 Corinthians 15. This is the resurrection chapter. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. No, we're not going to enter into God's kingdom. We're not going to be saved in the flesh. Nor does corruption, this flesh, inherit in corruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible. And we shall be changed. Those who are alive and remain shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then and only then shall be brought to pass the saying, That is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is your sting? O Hades, the grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin. The strength of sin is the law. God's law is not done away. That's how we know what sin is. God reveals His truth to us. He reveals His law to us. The strength of sin is the law. Sin is the transgression of the law. If there was no law, there would be no sin. But there is a law, and we need to keep it. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, the only name under heaven whereby we may be saved, through Jesus Christ, who came and lived a perfect life, paying the penalty for your sins and my sins, if we'll accept Him as our Savior, if we'll repent of our sins, and if we'll strive to put sin out of our life with all that we have in us.

With God's help and with His power, if we fight the good fight to the very end, then we'll be saved. We'll see that as we go along here. Verse 58, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Now, 1 Thessalonians 4 goes right along with what we've just read. These are fundamental verses. These are verses that we really should know very, very well, inside and out. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13.

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, those who have died, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who sleep or who have died in Jesus. For this we say to you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain, until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who are asleep, those who have died. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, changed into spirit, and we shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. And we should comfort one another with those words, because they are indeed very encouraging and comforting. So the verses that we've just covered tell us what salvation is about when we receive salvation. Christ is bringing salvation with Him. When He comes, He's bringing salvation for the firstfruits, those who are called now, those who are chosen now. Remember, judgment has begun at the house of God. Judgment is on you and I, because God has called us at this time. Many are called, but few are chosen because they don't respond to God's calling. Not only do we have to respond to the calling, we have to be faithful to the calling, because what does the Scripture say? Only those who are called, chosen, and faithful will I grant to sit with me. We have to be called, chosen, and faithful. Now let's talk about some requirements for gaining salvation at Christ's return. What are the requirements for gaining salvation when Christ returns? As I already mentioned, a person must accept Christ as their Savior. As the one who will save them from their sins, Christ is Emmanuel. He's God in us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ lives in us. The Father lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, we are to repent of our sins, to repent of breaking God's law. To repent means to turn around, to change, to stop doing what you've been doing, and live differently. To live righteously, to live faithfully, to keep God's commandments in His laws. Just as Abraham did. Remember, Abraham obeyed my voice. He kept my charge. He kept my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. He is the Father of the faithful. We must have faith like Abraham had faith and trusted God. So it is important that we strive to continually overcome our sins, to put them out. That's why we keep God's holy days. The days of Unleavened Bread, picture putting sin out of our lives. They're important days. All of the days show us how we're going to be saved. We can take the time to go through them all. We don't have the time right now, but each one of those days, beginning with Passover and up through the last great day, or the eighth day, they show us the plan of salvation. How we're going to enter into God's kingdom. So sin must no longer reign in your life. Sin can no longer reign with us, or we're still in our sins. And we haven't been forgiven. One who practices sin and is habitually sinning is in the clutches of Satan the devil.

So we have to put sin out of our lives. Make no more excuses for sin. As I mentioned once before, a person who is habitually sinning really shouldn't come through these doors. Because we're not supposed to have contact with one who is habitually sinning and is not a repentant person. We're not to have lunch with them. We're not to sit down with them. Now that doesn't mean we can't help someone who sincerely is striving to repent, wants to repent, and is struggling. That doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean you have to be perfect. There's a big difference between being perfect and habitually sinning, or sinning on occasion because of weakness, because of the human frailty that we all have. But we should be honest with ourselves. Be honest with yourself. Repent of your sins. Fellowship with us. Come back. But if you're habitually sinning, you probably need to give me a call. We can counsel. Hopefully you can repent of that. And you can be right back here with us. But really, you should take this seriously. Otherwise, you could lose out on salvation. That's just how serious this is. So a person must surrender to Christ, must follow his example of obedience and faithfulness to his and his Father's laws and commandments. They're in unison together. They're not different laws. That's a smokescreen that some people have used to try to cloud the truth. I and my Father are one, said Jesus Christ. We have the same mind. We think the same. We're the lawgivers. We're in complete unison together.

And remember what Acts 5, verse 32 says, Remember that God grants his Spirit to those who obey him. So when a person is eventually sinning, like, for example, not keeping the fourth commandment, not keeping the Sabbath, working on the Sabbath, you know, they're not converted. I mean, that seems to me to be a no-brainer. They're deceived. They may be very, very sincere as they observe Sunday, as they don't keep the Sabbath. But they're sinning habitually, week after week after week. And that's something that needs to be repented of. The Sabbath is a sign between God and his people. I will be your God, and you shall be my children, God says. That means we need to follow him and do as he does and as he's instructed us to do. So God gives his Spirit to those who obey him, and keeping the annual Holy Days, they're in the Bible. They're in Scripture. They should be observed. They should be kept. A true Christian knows that Christ is his high priest. If you are a true Christian, then you understand that Christ is your high priest. That Christ intercedes for you when you slip up. When you sin, Christ intercedes. It's never anything to take lightly, though, right? We don't take sin lightly. If we sin, we must admit our sin. We must confess our sin. We must go to God and pray that God will forgive us with all of our heart. God looks on the heart, and only then will he grant repentance. But if he sees a heart that wants to sin, that wants to continue down that road, and is not repentant, he's not going to grant repentance. He looks at our heart. And we might fool ourselves, we might fool others, but we can't fool God. Christ is our advocate. He speaks on our behalf, and then God the Father grants repentance. Repentance is a gift that the Father grants, and the Son intercedes for us. He knows our heart, He knows our mind, He goes to bat for us, He intercedes, and we are forgiven. We come to know the Father through His Son. Both are loving, both are merciful, but they do have rules. And they do have regulations, and they do expect members of their family to follow them. Just like a good father of a human household, that's what he should expect from his family, from his children.

Let's go to Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3.

Titus chapter 3 verse 4. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. God saved us through His mercy. Yes, it takes mercy. Because we're all sinners, we've all fallen short. If you sin just one time, you're guilty of death. You're guilty of the death penalty.

Not by works of righteousness, which we have done. See, we have done those things, but they're not going to save us. We must continue to be righteous and continue to do these righteous acts of love and compassion, of faith, producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit.

We should continue to do these works of righteousness. But according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enters us at conversion. And that is an important, wonderful process that begins at conversion. It is a new life. It is a new beginning. It's nothing to take lightly. That's awesome. It's so important.

But that is only the beginning. Then we're like that child that has to continue to nourish himself by eating good food and milk and meat in due season and those things that he might grow spiritually, that he might be fully born into the family of God when Christ returns, bringing salvation with Him. So He poured out on us abundantly through Christ our Savior that having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So we are saved by God's mercy. We are saved by His grace. Let's read verse 8 as well in Titus, chapter 3. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly. He wants us to affirm these things constantly. That those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works, righteousness. Be careful to maintain these things. These things are good and profitable to men. So yes, we have to continue to do good works, to keep the law, to serve one another. It's essential for salvation. But we are saved by God's mercy and by God's grace.

Now, what are some Scriptures that give a better understanding to the Scriptures that we read earlier, that people use to support man's false doctrine of once saved, always saved? Let's talk about some very important Scriptures in the remainder of the time we have. In Mark 13, verse 13, He who endures until the end, the same shall be saved. Now, that's pretty clear. You have to endure to the end. To the end of what? That's a valid question. We'll see. Matthew 24, verse 13 as well. Matthew 24, verse 13. And He who endures to the end shall be saved. Now, this is a prophetic chapter, isn't it? Matthew 24. We're talking about the end of the age. We have to endure to the end of this age. Those of us who are called now, who are chosen now, who have been given the Spirit of God, we must stay faithful. We must stay steadfast. We must not compromise with God's truth and God's way of life. We need to be faithful and true to God and to our calling. So, we're not saved until Christ returns at the end of the age of man, at the end of this age that's coming shortly. We don't know how soon, but relatively shortly. We're closer now than we've ever been. We must endure until the end, the end of our lives here on this earth. If we die, we need to die in faith. We need to die with the Spirit of God dwelling in us. If we're alive and remain, then of course the Spirit of God must also be dwelling in us at the return of Christ. And if it is, it will quicken us. It will change us into spirit beings at that time. So, we're not saved until Christ returns at the end of the age of man. We must endure until this end, again, the end of our lives here on earth, or until we die and are sealed in the grave, awaiting the resurrection to eternal life. Again, we must endure and be alive when Christ returns. To endure means to be faithful to the very end. It means to be in the process of overcoming our sins when Christ returns. We have to faithfully be doing our Father's business. Good and faithful servant. That's what we need to be until the very moment Christ returns. We can't take vacations from God's law and God's truth and God's way of life.

We have to write God's laws in our hearts and in our minds. And we must refuse to allow Satan to infiltrate us, weaken us, sabotage us, and bring us into sin. Sin needs to be repented of.

So, to endure means to be faithful to the end. It means to be in the process of overcoming up until Christ returns. It means to fight the good fight until the very end of your life, or until Christ returns and saves you at that time. Now, Paul talked about fighting the good fight. He said that there was a crown of life that was laid up for him, but he had not yet attained it. It was still laid up for him. He hadn't attained it. He knew that he was not yet saved. He said, O wretched man that I am... It's Romans chapter 7. He said, O wretched man that I am, who's going to save me from this body of death, this human flesh, this mortal? Who's going to save me from this death? He was a sinner. He had to repent of his sins. He said, some of the things I don't want to do, I sometimes do. The things I don't want to do...you know how it goes...the things I don't want to do, I do. The things I shouldn't do, I don't do. I always mess that up. It's so simple, though. The things that you shouldn't do, you end up doing. And the things that you ought to do, you don't do. And the things that you shouldn't do, you do. And the good that you ought to do, you don't do. And you know how that goes. So, clearly, Paul realized he could be disqualified for God's kingdom. He mentioned that, an apostle of God, that he could be disqualified. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we, for an imperishable crown, a crown that will not fade away. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty. No, we should run with certainty. We should have confidence that we are in the process of being saved, and we will be saved at Christ's return. Not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and I bring it into subjection. So Paul clearly shows that he has to continue to work and be vigilant to bring his body into subjection. That that's what God requires, that he wants us to continue to do good works, to put sin out, and to begin to live by every word of God, and to become more and more righteous as we approach the return of Jesus Christ.

He says, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. I'm under no illusion that just because I get up here and speak to you, that I've got it made. I could be disqualified if I take sin for granted, if I become lackadaisical, if I become lethargic, if I am overcome by sin, and I continue to sin and get into bad habits, God could take his Holy Spirit away from me.

And we'll see that again in a moment. Let's go to Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2.1. Hebrews 2.1. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard. Things like what you're hearing today, you need to give earnest heed to what you're hearing today. Last, we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels or messengers is also what this means, various messengers, God sends all kinds of different messengers. Certainly, God's word is given to us, and we should learn to live by it. And it talks about the foolishness of preaching, that we can even learn from that, from human beings who get up here, who are flawed, who are imperfect, but who faithfully speak the word of God. We can learn. For if the word spoken through angels or messengers proves steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It is possible to neglect your salvation, and it is a great salvation. So do not neglect it. Do not take it for granted. Don't take it lightly. And then in Hebrews 6, a very, very important set of verses here, Hebrews 6, verse 1. Pay attention here closely, because these words are vital. Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, to maturity, spiritual maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. These are all things that we should know and understand. And this we will do if God permits, for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift. Speaking of the Holy Spirit, if you've been enlightened, your mind has been opened to the truth of God, and you've received the Spirit of God dwelling in you, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the Ace to come, because there is great power in God's word. And in His Spirit, these are the words of life. If they fall away, if a person hears this, if he has the Spirit of God dwelling in him, but if they fall away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. That's just how vital and important this is. Once you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, that is your one and only chance at salvation. If God takes that Spirit away from you, then let's read further. If they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, in other words, they take that sacrifice lightly. And that's another reason why when we take the Passover every year, we must take it in a worthy manner.

Again, for themselves the Son of God to be put to an open shame.

Let's read further, verse 7. But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation. We're talking about salvation. Though we speak in this manner, for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love. If you are a godly person who is striving to obey God, God's not going to forget that. Which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints and you do minister. In other words, you're continuing faithful in serving God, serving His people. The Scripture says in Ephesians that we were created for good works. That is our purpose. That's why we were created. To live a godly life, to become holy, even as God is holy. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. That you do not become sluggish. We say that we're in the Laodicean era. Does that mean you have to be Laodicean? I don't know for sure if we're in the Laodicean era or not. Maybe we are, maybe we're not. But I know I don't want to be Laodicean regardless.

And you ought not want it just as badly as I don't.

That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Through faith and patience, through steadfastness, through long suffering, then we will inherit the promises. If we endure to the end, the same shall be saved.

So we are to be enlightened with the gift of the Holy Spirit. And when we are, we're held accountable for our behavior, for our steadfastness and obedience and repentance for our sins. And we need to be faithful to God. We are expected to endure to the end, realizing that we could fall away.

Now let's go to Hebrews 10, where it talks about the unpardonable sin.

Hebrews 10, verse 23.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. And I'm afraid a lot of people do that these days. They don't see it as quite so important.

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day, that's the day of Christ's return.

Christ is coming back, and there's going to be some horrific times that will take place before that event happens, and we need to be ready, spiritually, when those days begin, because it will go quickly, like a whirlwind, once it begins.

As you see the day approaching, for if we sin willfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, this is talking about a willful sinning, where we really no longer have a desire to really live by every word of God. We're willfully sinning. We don't care at that point.

We don't care what God thinks, what he says. We sin willfully. There's a big difference between sinning willfully and willingly, because, yes, we do sin, and we are willing to do it, but if it's out of weakness, if it's out of neglect for a short time, but we're repentant, and we'll change, and we'll turn around, no, God knows we're going to fall down at times. He knows that. But don't let your failures be your end. Get back up and keep going. Fight the good fight. That's what this is all about.

For if we sin willfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Christ died for us once. If we accept that sacrifice, and the Spirit of God dwells in us, that's our one and only opportunity.

But there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries, those who oppose God. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? Yes, we're saved by grace. We're saved by the graciousness of God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior. Christ died for us. For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son, a Father who loved His Son from the very beginning. Before He was even known as His Son, they were together at the very beginning. They loved each other completely. He gave His only Son. Had Him come down here, be born of flesh, dwell among us.

We must not take that sacrifice lightly. We must embrace it with our entire beings, and believe it with every ounce of our being, and know that Christ died for us and that the Father gave His Son for us. Now we're to live for Him, we're to live for God. And nothing is nearly as important as obeying and following God in Christ, who are saving us. So, again it says, we must not insult the spirit of grace. We're saved by grace. We know we're not saved by law-keeping. We've all blown it. We've all broken God's law. We need to be forgiven, but that doesn't give us license to go on sinning. We must strive to put sin out of our lives. We fight the good fight until we die, until our last breath, until Christ returns.

Okay, I'm going a little longer, but I'll wrap this up quickly. 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9-11. You can read it, but it shows clearly that the unrighteous are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. You can't go on sinning. You can't go on being unrighteous. You've got to put it out of your life. You can't practice these things. Maybe we should go there. 1 Corinthians 6. Let's consider what God says here. These are things that you must not continue doing. 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? If you're an unrighteous person, then you're not going to inherit God's kingdom. He says, do not be deceived, neither fornicators. That's people who think that it's all right to just go around having sexual relations with various people. And that's what this world... It's out in front of us every day. If we turn on the TV, if we watch any kinds of shows, it seems to be the right thing to do, right? Fornicators are not going to enter the kingdom. They're going to have to repent of their sin. They're not going to be in the kingdom of God. It's that serious. Continuing on, idolaters, those who put other things before the true God, if things are more important than God, He doesn't want you in His kingdom. He doesn't want you in His kingdom. If He's not the most important thing in your life, He does not want you in His kingdom. Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, people who are unfaithful to their mates, God doesn't wink at that. You won't be in His kingdom.

Homosexuals? Homosexuals are not going to be in God's kingdom, no matter what anyone tells you. If they're not repentant, and such were some of you, remember? We talked about that. We have to come out of those sins, living by every word of God. Homosexuals? Sodomites? Those who practice sodomy? Thieves? Thieves aren't going to be in God's kingdom. You can't continue to steal. You can't continue to revile. That's not a godly trait. You've got to stop that kind of behavior. You can't be an extortioner. And you can't do anything of the like. There's another scripture that Paul uses where he adds that, and anything that's like these things. Don't play games with God. It doesn't work.

And then he says, and such were some of you, but you were washed, and you were sanctified, and you were justified, and you stopped doing these things. And that's why you're going to be in God's kingdom. Because you have the heart to obey. You have a heart to obey, and God sees your heart, and he knows you want to stop these sins and put them out of your life.

Now, in Revelation 2 and 3, it shows that he who overcomes and keeps Christ's works until the end is going to be given power over the nations. Those people will eat from the tree of life. They shall not be hurt by the second death. The second death will have no power over them. They will eat of the heavenly manna. They will be clothed in white garments. And they will not have their names blotted out of the book of life. Instead, Christ will confess this person's name before God the Father and the angels it says. Your name will be confessed before God. Christ has interceded for you, and you shall be saved. Christ will make those who overcome pillars in his temple, and he will write upon that person Christ's new name, the name of God and the new Jerusalem, which comes down from heaven. Christ will grant to those who overcome a position beside him on his throne of majesty. They will rule and reign with Christ. But they must overcome. They must grow spiritually. They cannot afford to cling to a false doctrine of once saved, always saved. Brethren, do not be deceived by man's false doctrine of once saved, always saved. Cling to God and cling to his truth. Keep his commandments, keep his statutes, keep his laws, and reap the blessings of doing so. Know that it is truly God's good pleasure to give you his kingdom, to give you salvation in his kingdom. But you are expected to strive to live by every word of God. We are indeed saved by grace, by God's forgiveness for our sins, our genuine repentance of those sins that we have committed, and even continue to commit to some degree. Look, I'm not perfect. I sin. I have to repent of those sins. No one here can take their sins lightly. They must not take their sins lightly. Let us all continue to run the good race and to fight the good fight and to endure faithfully to the end of this age. And may God hasten the coming of his glorious kingdom.